


I'll Follow You ( you lead the way )

by melanoradrood



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 02:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15305643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanoradrood/pseuds/melanoradrood
Summary: Jyn will follow Cassian across the galaxy. He is happy to lead the way.( it's an afternoon just for them. a few minutes away from the chaos. time to sit. to relax. to enjoy the person that means most. )





	I'll Follow You ( you lead the way )

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ivaylo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivaylo/gifts).



“Cassian, you’re going to get us lost.”

She wants to trust him, but Jyn isn’t the sort of girl that goes hiking in the woods… and neither is Cassian. She’s most in her element in… well, she doesn’t really have a prefered environment, but she has never climbed through a jungle before, so she’s pretty sure this isn’t it. And Cassian? Well, spies needed to be spying on someone, and that meant busy city centers, not climbing around Yavin.

“It’s a trail, Jyn. You can’t exactly get lost on a trail. There’s only one way to go. Come on, this will be worth it.”

Yeah except that there’s no markings, and there is some light overgrowth, and they’re having to climb uphill… Jyn Erso does not climb uphill in random jungles.

But… when Cassian had come to her room that morning, had told her that they were going out together, that they were doing something non-work related, something that was nothing to do with the rebellion, that they were  _ taking a break _ … she wasn’t really interested in the idea, but she was curious.

Maybe she should stop being curious.

Cassian looked so excited, though, and he had a pack on his back, and he said there was a spot he wanted to take her to… Cassian has actually never looked excited before, not even the day that they were both released from medical. He has also never talked about taking a day off. Even when they were in medical, they had to write reports, and then Jyn was giving every last bit of intel she had from years on the run, and Cassian was reviewing old files, was writing up reports on old contacts while he was unable to go out and reach to them.

They never had a day off. It wasn’t who they were. For Cassian, a spy always had to work, always had someone else, always had a piece of intelligence, always had something and somewhere they should be getting into. For Jyn, it was a case of survival. If she wanted to eat, if she wanted to stay free, she had to be on the move.

They were not the sort of people to take the day off, but she’s curious as to  _ why _ he takes the day off… curiosity. It really is getting to her.

She stays silent for five more minutes before she finally speaks up again. 

“Cassian, when I said I would follow you anywhere…”

She’s not really sure where she’s going with this, but Cassian is grinning as he looks back at her, and there’s something in his eyes that she hasn’t seen before, and it’s not hope, it’s not a tired hope… it’s a lightness, a happiness. She wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.

“Just a few more minutes. We’re almost there. Close your eyes and just listen. What do you hear?”

She lets out a huff but does as she’s told. Eyes closing, Jyn listens. Their hearing has both been a little off since Scarif, as they’re both soldiers first and foremost, the loud sounds doing damage over time, but if he can hear it, then so should she. It takes a moment, and then it dawns on her that there’s a hum in the air, and after a few moments longer, she recognizes it.

“Is that… is that water?”

She thinks it sounds sort of like water hitting stone, and tries to grasp what exactly it is from her memories. Cassian is grinning at her as he walks the few steps to her, offering his hand, and she takes it as he pulls her closer, just a few steps.

“It’s a waterfall. I thought… I thought we could have a picnic, just enjoy the day together… Is that okay?”

Every bit of her that doubted him, that doubted the idea of taking a day off, that questioned what was in his pack… she takes it all back. There’s a smile on her lips and she nods, reaching her free hand up to touch his cheek.

This is still new, they’re both still new to this, to them, to this idea that there’s someone that they can trust, that will have their back, that will follow them, that they can follow… she shouldn’t have doubted him for even a moment.

“It sounds perfect,” she promises.

The last ten minutes of their climb is by far the hardest. Before that point, it had been a trail that was steadily going uphill, but not too steeply, but somehow, it had become more rocky, and there was a need, every few steps, to have to pull themselves up. 

Not really pull themselves up, just more, Jyn suddenly feels a little unsteady on her feet. Cassian is climbing up easily enough, but the pack is no longer on his back, and when he reaches a point where there’s simply no stepping, but instead actually having to climb upwards, he gently sets the bag up on the rock.

“This is the spot,” he says looking back at her, and Jyn gives a nod. “Give me a second and I’ll help pull you up?”

It’s a question, a very clear question, but she’ll need the help. Jyn isn’t entirely sure her hands can actually reach the top of the rock, not unless she jumps, and there’s a few spots to put your feet, but Jyn isn’t sure she can reach them.

“Yeah. You just get up there without hurting yourself,” she says with a grin.

He gives her a long look, and then turns back to the rock. He takes two steps then jumps up, grabbing it easily, then pulls himself up. It’s his legs and lower back that were primarily injured, so he’s able to pull himself upwards easily enough. Once he’s up, he doesn’t even look at his surroundings, instead getting down onto one knee and reaching out his hand.

Jyn copies his move, taking two steps and a jump, and one hand reaches the top of the rock, just barely, but the other hand grabs his. He hoists her up in two seconds, and she probably could have done it herself, her upper body strength good enough to achieve it, but her arm is still a little sore at times from Scarif. 

Besides, she would never say no to letting Cassian help her.

Pushing herself to stand, Jyn turns to take in the view, and she’s stunned.

Never had Jyn thought anything could be so beautiful, not on Yavin, at least. Yavin is all clingy heat, and she has spent the past few years on planets that were cold, often dry… not wet and humid like this. This is beautiful, though, and she almost shivers. The waterfall sends a bit of a mist their way, and there’s a breeze this high up, making her clothes not feel quite enough.

She doesn’t care, though, because from up here, she can see the tops of trees, can see the temples in the distance, can see birds and wildlife and nothing, nothing at all, that speaks of war.

It has been a long time since she could look out into the distance and see no signs of war.

She can feel him reaching out beside her, and without even looking, Jyn grabs onto Cassian’s hand. He holds it tight, squeezing it, and then lifts it up to his lips. She can feel his kiss on her knuckles, the back of her hand, her wrist, and she wants to look at him, wants him to see the adoring smile on her lips straight on, but she can’t pull her eyes away from the view.

“Thank you, for bringing me here,” she says, her voice softer than it has likely ever been.

After a long moment, Cassian is stepping up behind her, wrapping his arm around her chest, pulling her back to his front. His lips press to her temple and she smiles again - he’s never like this outside of the privacy of a shuttle or in one of their rooms, but they’re often not in the same place for very long, and rarely in any sort of private space. This, though… They’re entirely alone, but also entirely open.

“I wouldn’t want to share this with anyone else.”

 

* * *

 

They eventually have to pull away from one another, if for no other reason than because Jyn was hungry, and Cassian had promised her lunch. He pulls out a blanket from the pack, which he spreads out on the flatest part, and Jyn sits as instructed on one side, watching as Cassian very carefully pulls out their meal.

There’s local fruit, a few wraps, and a bottle of tea that is still warm. Cassian had explained that Chirrut had actually packed this bag, along with recommending this particular location. She can see why the Guardian would appreciate this place, even if he couldn’t technically see it. There’s a beauty out here, listening to the birds in the trees, feeling the mist from the waterfalls, the stillness in the air that doesn’t mean death, but instead means peace.

She could grow used to a place like this.

Cassian mutters a curse, and then pulls out something from the bottom of the pack - Jyn recognizes the packets immediately. Even if she hadn’t already been told that Chirrut packed the bag, she could have guessed it from seeing those. She and Cassian were not there quite yet, but it seemed that the Guardian was encouraging them to take the next step forward.

“There’s a note,” Cassian said, and that’s confusing, because they both know that Chirrut can’t write.

_ “Just use them already, _ it says,” Cassian mutters, and then he laughs, turning to show the note to Jyn. It’s marked with a B, and she knows that that isn’t Bodhi’s handwriting. She’ll have to throw something at Baze later to get him back for it.

“Maybe we will,” she says with a grin - they probably don’t need them, both of them have been tested, they both have their shots, but… Cassian sucks in a breath and looks up at Jyn, and she’s wearing a soft smile.

Jyn isn’t sure which of them is keeping them from taking the next step, but maybe, if he’s ready, she might be ready as well.

Cassian comes closer, their food forgotten, and bends down, one knee on the blanket, so that he can kiss her lips. Jyn’s face tilts upwards, and she receives two soft kisses, then a third on her forehead. Her eyes are closed when he pulls away, and she opens them just in time to see him blushing, throwing the packets back into the bag.

“Maybe when we have an actual bed,” he says with a laugh.

Yeah, she likes the sound of that.

“Well in the meantime, you can feed me,” Jyn says, sitting up and reaching for the containers. She could pull out her knife to peel the fruit in a minute, but she wants to see what else there was. Cassian is settling down beside her, opening up the bottle of tea, and she’s pleased to see the warmth that comes from it. The smell tells her that it’s from Chirrut’s secret stash, and she delights as Cassian pours her a cup, handing it over.

It’s still warm, and she’s amazed at how cold she feels on the outside when the warmth goes down her throat. A shiver reaches her skin, but before she can say anything, Cassian is shrugging off his jacket, and handing it over. 

“Here. I should have warned you that it was cooler up here.”

She smiles, accepting it, and she wants to ask about him, but then realizes he’s wearing two shirts. It takes her a second, and then she realizes, from the smile - he hadn’t told her on purpose, so that she would be underdressed, would need his jacket. That makes her smile more than the tea.

They talk about everything and nothing as they eat - about the mission Cassian just returned from, about the new group of recruits, about the Millennium Falcon and how Jyn shouldn’t mock Han Solo, and about how pretty soon, they’re going to have to leave Yavin.

She hates that thought, because she doesn’t know where Cassian is going, doesn’t know if they’ll be sent together. The Empire had lost a lot when they lost the Death Star, but they’ll be back. They’re lucky they’ve had this time, at least, but it will be a long time before there’s another Headquarters, if the rumors are true.

She hopes that Cassian will use whatever leverage he has left to keep her with him… but she doesn’t want to ask, because the answer might not be what she wants.

Instead, a silence settles over them as Cassian peels the fruit, and when he hands a piece over, Jyn accepts it with a smile.

“I’m going to miss this place,” he says finally.

Jyn looks around, and it suddenly dawns on her that, to Cassian, this is likely home. He had been part of the Rebellion for almost as long as she had been in the fight, and while Jyn had never had a home, Yavin was always where he returned to.

“Are you going to miss the clinging heat?” she teases, and she knows he hates that aspect, prefers the cold as she does, but then he looks at her, smiling with sad eyes.

His gaze shifts to the view in front of them, and Jyn isn’t sure what she expects him to say, but it’s certainly not his answer. “I guess I’m just not ready for change. It wasn’t home, but I always came back here. This was where I could stop being… whoever I was out there.”

Jyn reaches out, grabs his hand, and she interlocks their fingers.

Change… He was a spy, always undercover, always with his life on the line, moving from place to place. Yavin was the place he always came back to, and now…  And now he would be out there, adrift.

“You’ll always be yourself with me.”

_ I can’t leave you behind, Cassian. You have to come with me _ . She had screamed those words at him on Scarif, and she tries to not think about their past, tries instead to think about their future. 

“I know,” he says finally. “I just wish... “

His gaze looks out at the view, and Jyn realizes what he’s saying.

When they leave here, everything changes. They don’t have a Home One to return to, where they can be themselves. They struggle to even be themselves in the privacy of their own room. How were they supposed to let down their walls while they were drifting in the vastness of space?

“We’ll find each other again,” she finally says, and there’s a smile on Cassian’s lips as he glances back over to her.

“Yeah? You’ll travel across the galaxy to drag me back out of whatever I get myself into?”

She gives a shrug and grins, shifting over on the blankets so that she can tuck herself in against him.

“I’d rather not… but wherever you go, I’m going with you. We’ll figure it out, even if I have to sneak on board.”

Wherever the rebellion takes them, they’ll have to put her in binders to keep her from climbing into the same shuttle as Cassian… and even those might not be enough.

“Wherever I’m going, there will always be a seat for you,” he says, and she smiles at that.

They can’t stay here much longer. Evacuation planning has begun, and before the week is out, they’ll have their new assignments. They might be separating, or might be in the thick of the fight, or they might - she doesn’t even know all of the possibilities, but that doesn’t matter.

That doesn’t matter when Cassian picks up her hand and presses his kiss to her wrists, where even after all these months, the scars from her raw and bound wrists were healing. He kisses over her fingers, a few still healing from being broken, and then pulls her closer.

And Jyn goes to him, leans in when he kisses her, and it’s soft, it’s a promise. It’s a promise that whatever she gets into, he’ll fight with her. It’s a promise that wherever he goes, she’s always welcome to join him.

She doesn’t know what future the Rebellion has, but for Jyn Erso, it doesn’t matter. Cassian is her fight, Cassian is her home, and even if they’re on opposite sides of the galaxy, they’ll always find one another again.

She would follow him wherever he asked, and then some.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the lovely Jojo, also known as crazy-fruit, also known as Ivaylo! Honestly, she is such a gift to the fandom, it's wonderful to give this gift to her. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
